The following Bible study is presented in three
sessions and is designed for use with adults or older youth. Each session is 45 minutes
long and is suitable for a church school setting or small group gathering. The insights
and ideas from these Bible studies may be a helpful way to further introduce the data
found in your Context Report but may also be valuable resource for your church board or
council in planning future ministry efforts.

Bible Dictionary Paul J. Achtemeier, editor
(Harper, 1996) and An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, W.E. Vine (Thomas
Nelson, 1952) were the resources used in Session One and Two.

Session One | Who are our Neighbors?
An Old and New Testament Understanding

15
minutes

Ask participants to read the following verses aloud: Exodus 12:4
and Proverbs 27:10 (our neighbor is one who lives close by)

Ask another participant to read I Samuel 28:17. (David is referred
to as neighbor because he is a fellow Israelite)

For discussion  what conclusions can we
draw from these verses about who are our neighbors?

10
minutes

Share the following information with the class (the Greek words
should be written on newsprint).

In the New Testament, three different words are used for
neighbor.

Geiton - one living in the same land. This word
is always plural in the New Testament.

Perioikos - an adjective meaning those who dwell
around.

Plesion - an adverb from the Greek word pelas,
meaning near, the one who is near.

These words have a wider range of meaning than the English word
neighbor. Although Palestine was agricultural, there were no farmhouses
scattered around. People lived in villages and went out to toil the land. A wide circle of
people, the neighborhood, touched life. These Greek words were therefore very
comprehensive in their use.

For discussion  How does this change our
understanding of neighbor?

20
minutes

The Old Testament limited the concept of neighbor to those who
lived very close by or those who were fellow Israelites. The New Testament expands this
concept to include those living in the same land, both near and far.

Refer to the portion of your Core Story, which discusses who lives
in your study area or Part One of the Context Report, Who is Out There?
Discuss the following questions:

Do we consider those who are members of our church
neighbors? Who in the group comes the farthest to participate in the life of
the congregation? Who is the closest?

Do we consider our study area neighbors to the church because
they are in close proximity or neighbors to us, even though we may not live next to them?

Who are those living in our study area? How are they like or
different than our churchs membership?

How would our congregation be challenged if we considered
those living in our study area as our true neighbors? How would our
congregation be richer?

Session Two | Who does Jesus say is our
Neighbor?

10
minutes

Ask different members of the group to read the following verses
aloud:

Leviticus 19:18
Matthew 22:39
Mark 12:31
Luke 10:27

Ask someone to now read Luke 10:25-37

For discussion  How did Jesus expand the
understanding of neighbor in this parable?

20
minutes

Referring to the information in your congregations Core
Story or Part 7 of the Context Report, Health and Wholeness  Where are People
Distressed? divide the class into groups of 4 and ask them to rewrite the Parable of
the Good Samaritan using the information about the people in your study area. What would
be the scenario? Who might walk by? Who would help? What would helping look like?

15
minutes

Return to the total group and ask each group to read their story.

Close with the question, how could our congregation be more like the Good Samaritan?

Session Three | What are Our
Responsibilities as a Neighbor?

5
minutes

Ask the group to list all the responsibilities of being a
neighbor. Write these on newsprint.

10
minutes

Now, lets review some of what Scripture tells us about being
a good neighbor.

Ask different participants to read the following texts aloud. Add
these Biblical characteristics to the list previously developed.